The Boudoir Workshop

Lesson 15 of 49

Shoot: Bedroom Set, Soccer Mom

The Boudoir Workshop

Lesson 15 of 49

Shoot: Bedroom Set, Soccer Mom

Lesson Info

Shoot: Bedroom Set, Soccer Mom

As let me introduce rachel rachel, come on up here first don't be shot um so rachel is telling you tell me a little bit about yourself your newly divorced how old kids all that jazz forty three and have two little boys hate and four and I'm just excited to be here and write celebrate my womanhood yeah were you totally nervous to do this? I can't okay awesome you're perfect you're my exact clientele I worked with all the time, so this is kind of like a typical set up bedroom and we're kind of working in a small area I'm gonna, um, work with the light panel whips one by one video light these are really easy to use they come on a dimmer um so you can see exactly what you're getting um and they're really portable. They're easy to carry toa hotel I love working with ease super easy eso sometimes when you need a little boost and I'm kind of well, I guess I was spoiled living in l a I never really realized I'm like what's wrong with playing natural light then I moved to new york and I'm in se...

attle like hell and I really need to boost this so I'll be shooting I think I'm going to be shooting at six forty I so one two hundred at two point oh so that's what I'm shooting at and uh all right let's just get started I was eleven how what we were talking about before exactly like to me um definitely always have the fan on okay situated you do it like this gorgeous gorgeous and then look out and right now I've got people in the mirror but I don't really care about that I'm just focused on showing you what I would normally do we'd photoshopped those people out so but normally I don't have a bunch of crew hanging around me so excess ellen and like flirt with him know him being him john ah so gorgeous gorgeous I love that you're a natural born flirt okay, sweets let me just check some of those see if I like the light uh the laughter is rockin you've got such a cute laugh thank you for letting it go so let's get a little bit sexier skin upon her knees and totally seeing your butt in the mirror which rock um can we do me a favor and cheat this light upward a little bit so it's not right yeah so what? We're going to dio um move over a little bit that way yeah perfect awesome awesome right there okay and kind of relax your body and just kick a hit perfect perfect and then we're gonna blow the fan on you split the difference down a little more okay? Awesome perfect right there's gorgeous turn your body a little bit this way and then your head that way okay, perfect and also I want you to do is just keep shifting your weight and moving your hands up and down your body keep cheating your face to the light and then just enjoy it if you want to bust out laughing please dio um let me get set some, um kill myself here perfect perfect. You can go ahead and move the hair out of your face if you need teo yeah, but oh yeah perfect hold on let me check late ok, gorgeous I think you're good I'm just going do one thing live this pillow definitely love that your heels are out there sticking up and I love like extreme posture is great you're working it you're doing a great job trying angle your body like that okay right there because I want to see your butt in the background john can give me a favor and just push that pillow down because I can't see her but in the reflection uh you can even remove it let's see how that works? Yeah that's fine. I'm cool with that and a lot of betting on this bed that's good okay, perfect that's great okay, sorry nico have to wait I'm tether go ahead, rock it out, girl keep your face towards the light you can keep looking at me wait one more at me keep doing that great bring your hands up through your hair perfect uh excellent hold on one second turned more that way ok focusing on the butt okay, close your eyes I'm kind of getting your own moment here for a minute hold on one second waiting for the tether to catch up all right I think we're good to go okay excellent gonna try a different lens now are actually wanted to come down this way yeah exactly perfect back up a tiny bit or actually bring the light forward john I think it's fine right there look towards john for the light perfect bring your heels more over this way your whole lower body I want to see the butt in the background there you go but your upper body this way way no just scoot your knees back keep going scratching his back keep going perfect right there crusher legs and like twister light perfect you don't have to look up you can look down this way uh awesome. See this? Okay, sweet keep it going keep it going I'm going to do this so I could see some cleavage yeah bring them out really nice but look towards the light that's better excellent and with your eyes you could look at me perfect, beautiful skip those legs out a little bit more perfect actually let's go on your side now excellent like this is a challenging bed because it's so small usually I work on a queen or king this is kind of it looks almost twin ish doesn't it so I'm going to take some of this out and pull your I'm tank down cover your belly so it's kind of connected awesome and then I'm gonna take this over here so see how that kind of enhances her hip when I pulled her leg down and then with her arm I'm going to enhance her hit I'm going to drop her elbow down so we see this nice dip and I'm gonna have her hand on her hip light fingers like that like this so see separation of your fingers like that but one thing okay that's good that's good and drop your elbow a little more put more more more perfect okay whoops and then you just won't let that happen will definitely have the fan I love to blow the hair across the face don't worry if it gets in your face at all yeah and you just kind of glanced down your body like you're the hottest thing ever head up a little bit yeah like that and smile sorry hold on I keep forgetting I'm turning my camera sorry nico okay stay just like that just saw something I love smile though shin out chin up chin out even more cheated up yeah there you go smile awesome this's good sweet take my shoes off who we kidding? Okay okay let me get down drop your elbow more sweet and like smile like you love your body bring this more like that and kind of like why don't you run your hand along your your thigh perfect so it looks natural and in movement keep doing it rub it all up on their awesome bring the fan a little bit more I want more hair bring your hair forward sweet and like tilt your head up oh that's good in that way we'll find it kind of cheated like this maybe tilted back yeah go that okay awesome john don't block the light though, okay? Smile okay, now toss your hair back and laugh like yours erica okay, but from a profile point of view, right? Awesome. Keep going ok, we're good okay, let's get all sexy with the mirror. Can we have a tube of lipstick? Rachel make up artist let's go back up against the mirror. I might get in bed with you. Yeah face the mirror. I wonder if I should be on this side just so no one's in my way note than the lights there okay, sorry. Any sexiness it's gonna test like real quick okay, can we put the light on her hi. Feeling prefer is easier than you thought, right? Yes and now okay want her leg and not the maybe if we dim it down and put it right here awesome. So what we're gonna do is have you get up on this be careful because it might come out go on but I want you really like it that way we don't need the pillows were gonna get sorry the best action I've had all day or do you need like liver lip stick touch ups now to as a proper thank you ok fifteen minutes till river seriously okay, sorry go. I did it again. Okay, maybe I'll have the fifth you know the eighty five now this is ok oh, you don't even notice that don't even worry about it. Okay? I want you to get all sexy let me get the fan can you look into the mirror for sex so I get a light check look towards that way yeah, excellent, but at yourself yeah, you just say ok that's kind of cool we need to get more of the frame digging it okay, so exactly you look amazing so I need to be taller. How do you do you like right here back there okay, just go for a girl perfect hey, you need to be right, put it on hold on one again I see yeah I am that's when I need it okay a little more light on her face in her eyes I think that's perfect perfect hold it I'm just checking li okay awesome I do need the light did I just kill it myself? Yeah, that was a crucial element shooting that thanks, john how are you feeling? Any questions from back there while I'm doing this you do me a favor instead of like being up against the wall like this can you make it like a little bit more like relaxed and on the side like that fiesta exactly directive to put lipstick on because sometimes you can put it on and looked really like duck face um you'd airlift part your lips yeah, excellent keep doing what you're doing you're looking great. Excellent wait my blowing this out keep going you're good john okay, now wantto ditch the lipstick and then I just want to kind of like arrange yourselves together um strap down your perfect on the fan john pay attention perfect. See how that's gone? Okay, beautiful. Let some change that I'm all about create more variety let's put it back where it wass I'm going to get eighty five sorry I just turn this off I could take questions I'm goingto change lenses and stuff it's anyone have any questions students, anybody then we will go to the internet with questions um first of all uh quite a few people are saying because I'm doing a great job our model is doing wonderful so she's a a lot of people are saying wow, but right here good job and another question mo hopped is wondering have you ever had a client that made you feel terrible and if so how did you deal with it? Um good question um I've never had a boudoir client make me feel uncomfortable I had a family client make me feel uncomfortable once and I just stopped shooting. Okay, time for a break. Um so yeah can you put the other pillow back up their food and then rachel why don't you come down here with me? How much longer till the other model okay, so who's shooting next jen, you want to come here for a minute, okay? What? You're here on your feet there but I want you to set something up. Sorry, okay remember saying this is the one I hate were headline over there let's not do that. So why don't you find a nice version of that? Do I need to tell you up for your unique actually? Where you going to turn this off first, right? Yeah, jon, you wanna help her put my cameras okay, that was nico testing you have just said so I really like earlier how you were kind of playing with your hair can you kind of reach up and play in your hair? Yeah, while she's on the bed might be a little difficult with her with the hair yeah. Okay, well, how about if you roll on your side a little bit for me to be this way perfect I love okay, just make sure you tell john where you want the light I'm gonna have you that's a great pose like that hip can your future bone back just a little bit so we can get you into light there you are. Perfect. I'm gonna have you look towards the light for me so that's good with the light you don't want to adjust it anymore. I'm good at well, yes actually I want you to look up towards the light for me real quick, you know, bringing around yeah, engine bossy well that's their directed your directing that's what you need to dio she needs that right? Yes, yeah, she doesn't know what to do so awesome if you're here for me chen has me a little bit I'm sorry where any directing her eye line um towards the light ok, but actually towards the light and then put down towards her body and then I'm gonna have her look at me awesome! I love it but the latest so high that she has to go like this to look at it you're gonna be a ton of white of her eyes and she's gonna have a wrinkled forehead because she's stretching toe look somewhere how about if we joined your eyesight for its down towards your left shoulder your left shoulder yeah that's good that's good. I like that one over there looked really uncomfortable totally see it. Yeah, so that looks good that was natural. Now you want to look at her cleavage and is it flattering you need to adjust the boom and took to have her kick out the hip change your legs? You know, can I haven't bring your top leg which would be a left like towards me and can you that you got back there? Can you prop yourself up just a little bit more kind of problem out of it that's all I need girl no girls no what you need awesome awesome look towards the light for me look down toward your body don't you're behind again for me don't towards your behind yeah I keep putting the camera to my face I feel like no okay, you know what I can I can actually touch it up completely yes, right so I actually have you sit on the edge of the bed and I'm not sure how much her feet are gonna hang over, but can I bring a suitcase? Of course. Again, this's your set, whatever you like. So if you could put your feet on just so I can give you something to kind of okay. And I want you to kind of lean forward with your shoulders a little bit. And then I'm gonna have you seen was me with the light back on. Perfect. Can you kind of lean back a little bit. And the other hand, can you bring it over and just kind of, like, play with your neck? Oh, I like that, actually. Okay. So you see what you're going to photoshopped right away. Arm that happens all the time in the back is where we have to have them. Bend it a certain way. Just have them relaxed a little bit more and not be so through that one's. Better yet, chin up. This obit looked towards me. Have you lean forward just a little bit? Like with both hands? Sort of men turn your face back towards the light. Came up. Just a bit of a family is a huge difference. Oh they have man makes a huge difference yeah ok have you chained up just a bit and give up because I'm funny they're ugo awesome what about where the frame was splitting her right in the middle maybe like send her a little bit more in the frame know what I mean? Yes yeah you make it look so easy to know what you just can you um forward just a little bit towards me you kind of turn your shoulder towards the uh rachel you are amazing. You're a natural oh, that was such a cute smile was a great expression okay, I'm gonna have these really easy you agreed way back completely for easy just getting up insuring her is a lot more intimidating you might say you know I'm right on your knees actually I lied I'm gonna put you on your knees yes oh, my goodness but shot in the mirror I would get that way the tangled can I have you down towards the shoulder there a little bit I'm sorry. Look back with me. Perfect. Oh, there's a fan one note jen about this position is she's like a little bit like on her knees and elbows like maybe like have a crawl just bend the arms and elbows a little see what I mean like not exactly that flattering terms yeah, but you're okay all right, I got three more to this look up towards the a little bit too much little bit very uh this have john with the light and like I said create some action once you ever actually crawl little toward you and I think you are you having to stay here uh you know stay just like that and can you look down towards that way? I'm sorry this for me is a maniac that's it I just sort of what I'm doing so I'm like trying to move around and get teo that's a good plan don't know that's probably not perfect you look towards me look st john I don't ever get here a little bit just so you know I actually was one lean over with one hand your left hand well I hear right awesome about what jen's doing just f y I so we can kind of critique this for a second she is frickin working her angles she's not afraid to say no I lied that wasn't looking let's change it up she's not being shy about like trying to find something good she's giving lots of directions I always paying attention to the eye lines he's doing actually a fabulous job you know, she sweating it's hard up here you know with all the good ideas okay now so um so that's what she's really awesome at things that she could pay attention to more is like where things are in the background and is it kind of a flattering comfortable position so she's trying to like make it all work but then at the end of the day is it look natural and sexy? This is beautiful I mean it looks really great expression that's not chris you're doing great no but here's the thing in editing you're going to take a rest shots so it's okay this is the process to work through it and you feel totally comfortable you don't feel yeah like you mind someone going okay, wait let me do this let's try this um we're on the same team it's a collaboration she wants you to do your best so don't be afraid to keep exploring angles and stuff because you're going to find something hey, I didn't even notice that that's hot so keep working um just a few more minutes or we're about ready to wrap up uh no one has the answer okay a couple more minutes um why don't you try a different lens so you got the right of the fifty on right now you want me to give you the tether? Uh no, not really. Yeah, yes uh I'll just shoot into the next models ready and I was kind of I love the eighty five as you know, so I like to use it as much as possible here lay put that in and uh you had john you need three more arms so I again I love shooting with the eighty five with the chandelier it's like gorgeous tio it's so easy to get sexy the light is perfect the fan is perfect and you could just actually look at me for one sorry I shut my eyes camera once again you got a way to save him face a look um your face towards the light but you can look at me split the difference split more back to may back to may back to me okay and I want some laughter good bring this she's down so I don't see them. Okay, perfect and then get all saucy yeah get super saucy soft here head towards the light. Ok, uh beautiful. Hold that okay, let's get back up on and he's going to do a couple where your head's closer to the light really liking this thing and how it's creamy you closer to me like you're in front of the light oh, yeah it's a little bit close or dim it it's just emit a bit that's totally fine right there. Okay, excellent, perfect, perfect. Okay, let's, get some let's. Get all up in there, who's! Your beautiful rachel gorgeous uh, use both hands now you keep going, just keep going on about take a strapped down and looking me over your shoulder all the way so it's like bare shoulder and I see nothing yeah, perfect hold that keep going beautiful head all the way towards the light now awesome okay and that would be it would just do a quick little siri's okay, we ready to change it up way r yeah, we could ask a few questions our chat rooms would love it if you could please explain your light and fan set up one more time absolutely the names of them so nice tio you're tethered like rachel yeah um yes. So the fan I always have right at the light source so they're always next to each other. So, um this is a light panel one by one it's dimmable it's super easy work with you have someone hold it or you just have ah stand and we tried it like you can get a bunch of gels and tryem all what we wanted up with gosh, I don't remember what is it? One eighth color took george okay, so I just kind of and I go by I just kind of go does that look to warmers that too cool? Um and so I like to with the light I do like to create I mean, I wanted to be really front flattering with rachel I wasn't trying to get real dramatic and spot lit and enhance curves I really just wanted pretty natural double flattering light. So, um, this worked really well and having the chandelier on normally I turn atmosphere lights off. But if it's a chandelier told we having it on adds to the sexiness a little bit for me and especially you shoot with eighty five two point. Oh, love it. Soto follow upon that question from joseph's mom two thousand. How many different lenses do you normally take? Three. Twenty four, seventy, fifty one point two eighty five. One point to I used to just take the twenty four, seventy, but then I found myself wanting more. Um and the twenty four seventy is, um, a difficult lens to take close ups with their from the distortion. It's not very flattering. Um but instead of bringing all primes and switching them up and having the twenty four of thirty five I just bring the twenty four, seventy. We're only gonna have one lens that's the one toe. Have you on ly khun bring one? But you just have to know how how to use it. Well, like, you can only be so close to a model and shoot a close up with that. Um, so I pretty much like to start out, uh, doing close ups with eighty five because the makeup is perfect. Right then and because it's super easy I get to warm up, she gets too warm up I don't have to worry about posing her really all that much and then I'll go to the fifth d and in the twenty four seventy just when I need some masters so that's what we didn't get time for like I would maybe come and do one or two shots of her not looking at me but obviously voyeuristic of her like, you know, getting dressed or getting undressed, looking at herself in the mirror or getting all crazy in bed there something like that? What about the fan to yeah, right next I want to talk about sure we could talk about this is actually company makes fans for drummers and musicians called blow it fans dot com but they were really great for photography too you can mount him on a light stand it's got three speeds it's flexible we've wanted something light stand you can put it where you need it spins around easily you probably can't hear me because the fans on anyway comes in really handy. I like moving the fan around because it doesn't keep it in one spot and trying out the eyes so hand held with the fan sometimes easier on the model and you get and of course if you're coaching actions and she's moving that's why I like to have the makeup person on the fan instead of putting it on a stand on dh, what brand is this? Just blow it. Fans, they're really great because fans, I used to get just any household fan from, like target, and I'd be like, why it's? Like what it would blow one hair and it's like this close to her. But this one gets amazing power for such a compact size, which is cool, because, you know, I like it right next to the light.

Class Description

Join Christa Meola for a hot workshop on the art and business of boudoir photography. Learn what you need to know about lighting and equipment, shooting on location and in the studio, building amazing client relationships, posing, post-production, pricing and much more.

The agenda will include hotly debated topics, business strategy, Q&A’s, portfolio critiques, and a series of live shoots. Take a front-row seat with Christa as she demonstrates how to work with women, from figure models to soccer moms, curvy gals and nervous clients. Watch as she relaxes stiff subjects, coaches natural movement, and captures gorgeous moments that allows each woman’s unique personality and beauty to shine.

This workshop is perfect for you if you want to learn all of the exciting aspects of the boudoir market, whether you’re just getting started or you’re already a seasoned pro and ready to take your business to the next level. Be a part of this exciting and intimate event with fellow photographers around the world focused on how to create a successful boudoir photography business.

a Creativelive Student

This is meant to be a HELPFUL review for those that are wondering if they should purchase this workshop. About 75% of what I took away from this workshop was posing, composition for boudoir and the importance of eye lines and capturing movement. I had two boudoir sessions a week after this workshop and my images significantly improved. I was able to coach my clients through poses better, direct them on where to look for better eye lines, I was more aware of their posture and how to fix it, I think I sounded more professional and felt more confidant with getting awesome poses, stand out expressions and adding movement to my images. I put a fan on my client the way Christa does.. and she is right! The instant I put the fan on my client, her expression changed and you could tell she was really "feeling it". She told me she felt like a real supermodel right after I turned on the fan. If you are looking for inspiration on how to coach women and pose for boudoir then Christa is the girl for you. I think the most worthwhile thing I learned watching this is something that will help me in the years to come... with my brand, my website, my workflow and my business goals. I learned how to "keep it simple" which is Christa's tag line. For example Christa brings a roll of gray background paper and uses gaffer tape to hang it from the wall of the hotel (instead of bringing a 12ft background stand). I know this seems simple but this will change my life! I hate dragging equipment back and forth. There are some negative reviews on here about Christa's technical skills, but I think these people may have missed the whole point. If you provide an awesome product and an awesome experience for your client, they will buy it. And guess what.. your client will never know if you used your camera in auto or manual and they won't care if you used one light instead of two. As someone who has been in business for 3 years doing boudoir exclusively I learned a lot. I see a lot of value in learning from someone who doesn't spend a lot of money on fancy equipment, yet charges her clients over $3,000 for sessions. I'm a huge fan of her keep it simple philosophy and I'm glad Christa is willing to be honest about her workflow and how she best utilizes her time. Your not going to agree with or use everything Christa talks about, you take the parts that you like and are most helpful to you and work them into building a stronger business.

a Creativelive Student

AWESOME DEAL on Christa's course. I just sent an email to my husband to tell him thanks for "gifting" me this course. I told him just the ONE CLASS about pricing was worth the full $129 price of the course. And there are over 50 classes?! That is a crazy stupid good deal. You can learn something good from every class you take, every book you read, and just apply the stuff that works for you. There are a lot of people out there who seem to just enjoy giving crappy reviews, and to me it's almost like bullying. How someone could not find $129 worth of value in this course is beyond me. In my opinion this course is worth over a thousand bucks, because it can help you make SO much more money. I hate when I see people whining about things that are not 100 percent perfect, and they get annoyed if the person isn't catering to their exact needs. It's like the Yelper generation, with a disturbing sense of entitlement. I would love to see those people try teaching a class about boudoir and see if they could do any better. It also seems like, the more popular a person gets, the more other people feel the need to tear them down. I'm grateful that Christa even offered this course at ALL. Thanks Christa for all you do to help those of us who really need to know this stuff. You rock.

a Creativelive Student

I never thought I would shoot boudoir. I am a shy and private person. I started entertaining the idea when I first saw Christa's work and saw how beautiful and tasteful it can be. I love her lighting and all that she uses from historic painters and sculptors.
I watched all three days live and learned a ton. I have a lot of lighting education, but it was nice to freshen up my skills. I loved the posing tips and the three typical situations she uses for one shoot. I loved learning about how she shoots in hotels and also using things like an outdoor situation.
I have now shot my first boudoir session and it was a total hit. I am thrilled to show my client her images.
This was fantastic! Thank you, Christa!